South Pasadena : Flag Lot Bid Rejected

The City Council last week rejected a homeowner’s bid to split his Altos de Monterey property and develop a second house at the rear of the lot.

The council voted 3 to 2 to deny the application by Patrick Lee to create a flag lot, a housing parcel situated to the rear of his home and connected to the street by an access road.

Mayor Harry Knapp said the proposed 12,000-square-foot flag lot violated a neighborhood regulation on the minimum width of the access road and was too small. Councilmen Paul Zee and James Hodge argued that the application satisfied the city’s development codes and should not be blocked.

The council also approved a 45-day moratorium on new development in the 600-home community until the neighborhood’s planning standards can be reconciled with city statutes.